Tutorial: Pergola without gaps between columns and fences 3

Easy technique – Cheat constrainfloorelevation neccessary!

German version – Tutorial: Pergola ohne Lücken zwischen Säulen und Zäunen

Columns end below ceilings/floors but fences start on top of those. This ends up in an ugly gap between both when combining columns with fences to pergolas:

This back porch with pergola has been built with a foundation first, columns (and fence) on top of the foundation, fence on top of the columns and a second column on the ground enclosing the first columns for decorative purposes. Those columns on the ground have to be placed at last for easyness (if placed earlier you need to level out the heights).

1. Raise the ground

Raise the ground (terrain tool > raise terrain) with one short click, make the elevation as small as possible - the gap ist not big and does not need the height of a full step.

Build one piece of foundation on the elevated ground and level out the terrace witht the cheat constrainfloorelevation false and the terrain tool > level terrain:
The (upper) fence will be elevated too, but the columns will not. Their base is now sunken into the foundation:

2. Elevate upper Columns

To elevate the upper columns just leftclick them, so they will stick to your mouse. Then hit Escape on your keyboard. This will place the columns back in the same spot where you picked them up, but they will adjust to the heigher floor position.

The base of the columns is back on top of the foundation:

3. Lowering the terrace

Place again a piece of foundation this time on not elevated ground and level the height of the terrace back to its original height:

This will bring the terrace floor and all fences back down, but not the columns. The gap is closed:

If you want to change the position of a column afterwards you need to repeat all steps: You better wait using this technique till the end of the building process.

Pergola without foundation

You can build pergolas even without foundation: Place a column, raise the terrain, place a second columns and level the terrain out:

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